Could you benefit from a collaborative law divorce?

The use of alternative dispute resolution in divorce proceedings just makes sense. Imagine you have been married for 15 years and you’re seeking a divorce. You and your ex-spouse may have amassed a lot of marital assets together, including vehicles, real estate, retirement savings, cash bank accounts and more. You may also have child custody and child support decisions to make.

In a case where two spouses cannot agree on anything, it may be impossible to reach a fair settlement out of court. However, Connecticut spouses often see the wisdom in reaching accord. Many spouses want to benefit from the time-saving and money-saving aspects of reaching an out of court settlement, which also allows them to stay in control of their divorce outcome, and this motivates them to work together.

In this respect, one form of alternative dispute resolution has become very popular in recent years: the collaborative law divorce.

What is a collaborative law divorce?

The collaborative law process works well to resolve many areas of disagreement. Sometimes corporations use collaborative law to work through their contract disagreements. Spouses can benefit from it too — if they’re willing and able to work together peacefully and supportively to honor one another’s wishes. In fact, the collaborative law process was invented by family law attorneys in the early 1990s. These attorneys wanted a more straightforward and civil solution to reach settlements in divorce cases.

During collaborative law proceedings, both parties will meet face to face in a neutral place along with their collaborative lawyers. The attorneys support the spouses in speaking positively with one another, and in honoring each side’s perspective, needs and goals throughout the process.

With collaborative law, both participants make a commitment to resolve their dispute. Through the use of two collaborative process-trained lawyers, one representing each party, couples start to work through their differences and disagreements with the ultimate goal of penning their divorce agreement.

Collaborative law has a reputation for achieving results

Amazingly, in most situations, the collaborative law process works and the spouses end up with the vital aspects of their divorce — concerning child custody and asset division — decided and settled. Spouses who participate in the process not only save money and time, they also decrease the emotional burden that divorce often brings to the family.